Bloggs,
Smart pilots do it long before health problems related to old age or anything else sets in, do it whilst youth is on one’s side. not after a health scare or anything else negative with regards to maintaining a Class 1.
It’s easy to get back into professional flying, even after a few years of being out of it for an experienced pilot with the right attitude.
What percentage of professional pilots could comfortably transition into another reasonably paid job outside of a cockpit tomorrow, should the rug be unexpectedly pulled out from underneath them for what ever reason? That’s my point I’m trying to get across, think out of the square as reality sometimes can bite very hard for the unprepared.